Lawless

“That was legitimate.”

“Joel, come on.”

The leaf disappeared as Joel crushed it inside his clenched fist. “Your father said you were dating again.”

Her gaze slipped back up to his. “What?”

“No?”

The conversation had her mind spinning. Her dad still talked with Joel? And since when was her dating life up for discussion? Not that she really had one. She struggled through a few setups from friends and had a perfectly nice time with a guy from her climbing club.

Handsome men, fun places and she didn’t experience so much as a spark. Not even a tiny nibble of interest.

But that’s not where her mind went when Joel asked the question. It zoomed right to her nightmare scenario. The one where he walked away and found someone else. Where the truth turned out to be not that he wasn’t ready to make a commitment but that he didn’t want to make one to her.

“Are you?” Two simple words, but it actually hurt her to say them.

“I didn’t leave you so I could date other women. My decision wasn’t about being a playboy.” His voice rose and anger slipped in as he spoke.

As if he had a right to be upset about the fallout. “Well, I guess that’s good to know.”

Instead of standing around arguing, she headed in the direction of the helicopter. This was a waste of time and they had more important things to worry about than her broken heart.

Joel grabbed her arm before she got more than three feet. “Hey, wait up.”

She didn’t shake out of his grip, though she could have because his hold was more gentle than confining. Seeing the pain in his dark eyes killed off any thought of pulling back anyway.

He closed in, bringing his body within a few breaths of hers. “You know I’m telling the truth, right?”

“I know you had a lot of excuses. Still do.” And she couldn’t hear them again. Not and still function.

“Hope, look...I want...”

“What?” She heard the pleading in her voice.

His eyes closed and when they opened again the wary expression hadn’t faded. “Maybe we should stick to finding Mark.”

Just like that, the mood changed. Something snapped and the tension that had been building blew away.

Because he seemed to want an out, she gave him one. Maybe a change of topic made sense. There had been so much pain and disappointment, so many tears. She needed her head in the game and her mind on Mark. “Fine. Why are we headed back to the helicopter instead of following tracks?”

“I want to check in at work.”

“And?” Joel’s face went blank and she wasn’t falling for it. “Oh, please. Maybe I didn’t see you walking out on me, but I do know you. Part of you, and you are fixated and worried.”

“I didn’t leave you—”

“Joel.”

His hand dropped. “Okay, yes. I’m concerned.”

“You’re admitting it?”

“You deserve that much.” He motioned with his head for them to start walking again. “This is your job, and I think something is very wrong here.”

The honesty flooded her with relief. “Good.”

“Why good?”

“Sharing even that much is a big step for you.”

“I thought you’d be happy I left.” His voice dropped to a near whisper. “Back then, I mean.”

The words stunned her and she stumbled. She stared at him, thinking he had to be playing a sick joke, even though that wasn’t his style. But he looked ahead, not even blinking.

“You’ve got to be kidding.” She was about to pull him to a stop when a crack echoed through the trees. Dirt kicked up a few feet away from her, and birds swooped out of the trees in a rush.

“Get down!” His full body smacked into her before he finished talking.

The ground rushed up and she put out a hand to stop the free fall. Her legs twisted with his and the second before she slammed into the ground he turned them.

Landing on his side with a grunt, he absorbed the majority of their combined body weight on his shoulder. His body bounced and she tried to move away and let him brace for impact, but he curled her body into his. Still, the jolt rattled her teeth and she heard him swear under his breath.

She could taste dirt and feel sharp sticks jabbing into her bare legs and ripping off her bandage. Her mind finally focused and the sounds of the forest came rushing back. “Joel—”

“Don’t move.”

It had sounded like... But it couldn’t be. “What was that?” She whispered the question as she frantically looked around.

Before she could scramble to her feet, he shoved her against the ground and covered her body with his. His fingers slipped into her hair as he held her down. She heard a steady stream of reassuring words, but they barely registered over the fear and panic pounding through her.

She expected shouts and more pops. When nothing came, she glanced up. His gaze scanned the area, and his gun was up and ready. She swallowed hard at the vulnerability of their position. Right there on her makeshift path with nothing covering them or blocking their view in any direction.

“A gunshot.” He was so close the words vibrated against the side of her head.

Adrenaline pumped through her, and her heartbeat hammered in her ears so loudly she thought for sure she’d give away their position. “Where did it come from?”

“I’m more worried about who and how many.” He shifted his weight until most of it fell away to her side. “Stay under me.”

“Are you wearing a bulletproof vest?”

“Didn’t think I’d need one.”

She waited for the attacker to rush them. Listened for another shot. “I can’t hear or see anything.”

“I need to get to the helicopter.”

A vision of him running and getting shot hit her with the force of a crashing train. The horror of it stole her breath and had her fingernails digging into the dirt. “No.”

“I have a vest and binoculars in there.” He slipped farther off her. “Other weapons.”

“You can’t risk going into the open.”

With barely a touch he moved them to the left. She felt his deep inhale before he rolled them over and stopped close to a large tree trunk. He tapped the back of her legs. “Curl up.”

When the world finally stopped spinning she looked up and saw rough bark right in front of her face and threw a hand out to touch the surface. “What are we doing?”

“You are going to make yourself as small as possible.” He gave the orders without looking at her. His head kept moving as he glanced around them. “Then you’re not to move.”

“You can’t—”

“I’m serious. You move and I will come back, which is more of a threat to me than racing over there.” With a hand between her shoulder blades, he lowered her closer to the ground. “Stay down.”

Before she could grab on or call him back, he was gone. In a crouch, zigzagging he broke through the last line of trees. He hugged close to the helicopter as he lifted a hand. The door must have stuck or his angle was off because she saw him pulling and tugging.

With all her concentration, she focused on him. Her teeth clicked together as terror spun through her. She waited for footsteps to fall and a hand to pull her up. The only thing that kept her from screaming was watching Joel. Even as her vision blurred around the edges, she stared.

After some fiddling and a yank, he got the door open and bonelessly slipped inside. One minute his dark hair provided a beacon and the next he was gone.

Her breath hiccupped in her chest as she fought the urge to run after him. She’d just decided to do that when she saw his head again. He held binoculars and swept his gaze over the forest. The door inched open and he was off again, this time running toward her.

He slid in beside her, kicking up twigs and leaves around her. He held up a vest. “Put this on.”

“You need it.”

“I think the person is gone, but I don’t want to risk you getting shot.”

When he continued to hold the vest, she took it and slid it on. The way he stared at her with that I-can-wait-all-day expression had her adjusting the straps and securing it tighter to her body. “Happy?”

“Not really.”

That made two of them. She looked at the binoculars. They weren’t the standard bird watching kind.

“Do they do something special?” She half hoped they functioned as a grenade launcher. She’d be satisfied with any weapon that could protect them all and get them out of there fast.

“Increased magnification and brightness. Plus the universal mil reticle.” He spit all that out without lowering the glasses.

“Um, okay.”

“The last is a special feature snipers use.” This time he looked at her. “It allows for better targeting and range estimates.”

The techno-jargon filled her with a strange sense of relief. It was as if they had walked right into his wheelhouse. She was fine to stay there with him.

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